Happy Chavo Birthday

Angel dressed like El Chavo

El Chavo is a character in a comedic tv show, and Ulises's nephew, Angel, LOVES him.  Thus his birthday party's theme was El Chavo.  We went there this evening.  It was a huge birthday party held at an event hall. There was food and a giant play set for the kids.  There was also a clown that came and some activities involved.  I think the kids enjoyed themselves, which is what is most important.  Angel even dressed up like El Chavo.  We didn't stay until the end, but then again, we don't have any kids and the activities were naturally geared towards them.  Plus, Mexicans tend to party for LONG hours.  And I'm getting old :)

El Chavo pinata

Recognize these?  I helped stuff them
with candy

And one for me, too.  This is Chilindrina,
another character from the show.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Sanding his car door interior with the new
sander

My birthday was actually a couple of days ago.  Working on your birthday isn't really fun.  But I didn't want to take it off just to sit in my house and do nothing, so we can count today as my real birthday.  I had to go in to El Paso this morning to get gas, so I picked up a few things while I was there.  Ulises's birthday is in a few days, so I picked up something for him.  What I gave him today wasn't meant to be his birthday present, it was just meant to be a surprise.  But he liked it so much that I said it could be his birthday present.  It is what you see pictured here, a hand sander to help with painting his car.  I figure it'll be useful because I have a wood box that I want to sand and stain.  Plus, it'll be good for any other future projects.

Happy with his surprise

In the evening we had some friends over to my house for dinner.  It was a small group, my neighbors, and my friends Kate and Charles.  I actually prefer it that way.  I don't like large groups of people, even when I know them all and they are all friends/family.  I like being able to be part of everything that's going on.  In large groups, I always feel like I'm missing something.  I guess that's because I am.  I can't hear and be a part of every conversation.
Ulises cooked the meal, and Kate and Charles brought the cake/candles.  They bought trick candles as a pay back for what happened to Kate, even though I had absolutely nothing to do with that.  Ulises helped me blow them out.  Then came the mordida.  I have to admit that I did ok.  No one managed to smash my entire face into that cake.  So happy birthday to me!  It is amazing how quickly the years go by as I get older!  I still remember thinking as a kid that it would be FOREVER before I graduated from High School, and now I am a college graduate who is nearly two years into her career.  Before I know it, it'll be time to retire, and all of this will just be a distant memory.  I'm glad I can enjoy it while it lasts!

Getting the fire ready

Yum!  Raw meat :)

My birthday cake

Blowing out candles

YAY!

Mordida!

A slight mess

Getting ready for a party

There are a lot of summer birthdays, in any family, I think.  Angel, Ulises's nephew was born in June, but his party is set for next Sunday.  So, after church, we went to his sister's house and I got roped into helping stuff candy into some backpacks that his other sister had designed and put together.  It was actually a relaxing evening.  Despite the kids who just wanted to eat what we were trying to stuff.

Lots of candy!!

Mari sewing bags

Angel helping me fill the bags

Happy 8-month Anniversary!

At Hertz helping a friend to rent a car

8-months.  That is how long Ulises and I have been dating.  It's hard for me to imagine that it has been so long, and yet it feels like much longer.  So much has happened, and yet time has flown by.  We had a very special anniversary.  A friend needed help renting a car here in Mexico, so we took her down to the airport.  Choosing to rent at this Hertz was a HUGE mistake.  I guess maybe the real mistake was taking so long deciding what to do that the first guy left and another took his place.  This second guy was very slow. Every time we would ask a question, he would turn around and look through his papers . . . slowly . . . VERY slowly.  It was excruciating.
Finally we got the car and were able to leave.  As a thank you for helping her out, my friend took us out to dinner for our anniversary.  We went to Maria Chuchena's.  I didn't particularly care for the food, again, but in my experience so far, I prefer the food on the street or from small locations to these expensive restaurants.  Despite the experience at Hertz in the Ciudad Juarez airport, it was a good anniversary!

Dinner out

Eating fresa-style.  That term, fresa,
is used to refer to people who have
a lot of money, and I think it implies
being a little stuck-up.

8-months have come and gone!

Sunday with the Family

Swamp cooler transportation

What would be a strange sight to see?  How about a truck with a giant swamp cooler on top of it?  Ok, maybe that's not so weird to see. . . Or maybe I'm just getting used to seeing strange things.  This morning we actually went with Ulises's family.  After spending the morning with his family, his dad (in the vehicle in front) drove the cooler to Ulises's sister's house for them to put it in their house.  We went along because not everyone could fit in one vehicle.
From there, we went straight to church.  After church, we went back to my house.  There Ulises's worked on painting his car.  He had invited his sister to my house to use my sewing machine to work on a project, but she ended up doing it by hand at my house and then falling asleep.
After dinner, we drove her and her daughter back to their house.  We then decided to go with them to her in-laws.  In Mexico, everyone is one big happy family!

Painting the car interior

Trying to reach something that fell down behind the seat

Cleaning prior to painting

Just messing around

Left to dry

Before

Is this car stolen?!?!?!?  Nope, we just removed
the interior parts to paint them easier.

You can see in this photo why we wanted to repaint
the interior.  The dark grey is the final color and it
was coming off, showing the previous pink coat
and the original light grey in parts.  This particular
piece was already sanded a little.

After, at least partially

Heading out!

Just hanging out